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As you may have seen the interview in Punk Globe with the legendary Ginger Coyote, I am working on a biography of Faith No More.

But…it is very early in the whole process. The book is barely started and I haven’t got a publisher.

Having said that, I am aiming to produce the definitive Faith No More biography, one that combines a fan’s passion with a reporter’s expertise. The book will – if it sees the light of day – chronicle how such a heterogeneous group formed, flourished and fractured, and how Faith No More helped redefine rock, metal and alternative music.

Thanks to everyone who has helped so far, and I will keep you posted on future developments.

And if you have any information, tales, insights, old clippings, band photos, concert posters etc please email me at [email protected]

A very belated update so thanks for sticking around. I am working on the foundations of a book on the band so any other free time is limited.

Epic analysed

Fifty minutes on one song? Glad to know that I’m not the only person overindulging and analysing Faith No More. The Session programme on California’s 95.5 KLOSpresents regular breakdowns of iconic songs and last week it was the turn of Faith No More’s Epic.

Here is their detailed, forensic and loving track-by-track, channel-by-channel analysis of the song, giving each band member their turn in the spotlight. An insightful, educational and entertaining listen.

Thanks to Patton Fanatic for this and spotting the deliberate mistake in an earlier version of this post.

We Care a Lot anniversary

Today is the 29th anniversary of the release of the second version Faith No More‘s single We Care a Lot. Naturally, Faith No More Followers have the lowdown with a special post here.

Angel Dust analysed

Ireland has a lot of grá for Faith No More. Radio station Newstalk has devoted a few shows to the band in the past few years and now Irish podcast Jackdaw Sandwich Record Club has dissected Angel Dust in their unique way.

Kaada interview

Friend of the site Ben has interviewed frequent Mike Patton collaborator Kaada for Skwigly, and he speaks about working with Patton and his work on the Patton-featuring The Absence of Eddy Table.

Faith No More have teamed up with Sonarworks True-Fi to offer fans an enhanced audio experience of Sol Invictus track Cone of Shame.

Sign up here, enter your email address, enter the model of your headphones and then you’ll receive an email saying:
“You have successfully signed up for listening to Faith No More’s single “Cone of Shame” in Authentic Studio Sound. The FREE listening session will be released on February 7th.
In the meantime keep an eye on your inbox, as we will send you some exclusive footage bits from Faith No More.”

Bill Gould’s Team Rock interview

Bill Gould’s latest interview as part of the We Care a Lot re-issue promotion was a Q and A in Team Rock/Classic Rock largely focusing on the band’s early days and motivations:

Choice cuts:

With FNM, how much of what you do is art provocation and how much instinctive miscreancy?

It’s a bit of everything. People get hung up on how we fit into their box. We don’t think about it too hard. We just do what feels good.

You never seemed like one of those Last Gang In Town type of bands – more a confederacy of opposites. Fair?

Completely. We were a bunch of people with different abilities and quirks; a dysfunctional family. Jim came from the metal world, which was very different for us. [Chuck Mosley, first frontman] was the wild card; that was part of his charm. We were just playing loops and he would scream over the top. It was hard when we started getting into patterns and structure and touring – it became more like regular work. That’s when the tension started.

And

You must be proud of the band’s achievements: you defined a style of music, defied it, then defiled it.

All of that. It’s cool. You respect what you do, but at the same time you’re a bit of an iconoclast.

Every band has a voice. FNM’s is snarky, sarcastic, even satirical. Are you the hard-rock Steely Dan?

Ha ha! It’s funny, it’s almost like forensics: you have to take the dead body apart to see what the fuck it’s made of.

How did this collaboration come about? Was it simply a matter of a phone call to Patton?

Well, yes. Lombardo, Crain, and myself had thought of a few people to sing, Patton being one. Fortunately for us, the universe had its shit together… and here we are.

You had written material with Gabe Serbian prior to parting ways. Did you start afresh when Patton was enlisted?

We had the songs written and recorded prior to Patton’s involvement. When we started working with Patton, he jumped in and started working on lyrics and recording vocals.

So how has Patton’s influence changed the sound?

It’s hard to explain. The band is still finding it’s own skin to fit into. No matter whom you bring into a band, the sound becomes who all are part of it. Let’s revisit this question after the album comes out, after we play shows with the new line up, and after we can reflect on things.

The album will come out in early 2017 through Patton’s Ipecac label.

Brilliant Chuck Mosley interview

One of the few pleasures of 2016 has been the rehabilitation of the reputation of Chuck Mosley during the promotion of We Care a Lot. And Chuck, who has been in the studio working on the second Primitive Race album, has given a very revealing interview with Fear and Loathingin which he expounds at length on the early days of Faith No More.

Some choice cuts:

You first met Billy Gould when you were both going to punk gigs in Hollywood ?

‘Yeah, I met him when I was about 17 or 18, I think. He was the first one of those guys I met, because I didn’t even meet Roddy until Billy had moved up to Berkeley. We both had this friend, Mark Stewart, who I had known since Elementary school. He started to play guitar around the same time that I started playing piano, but I didn’t really see him play until we were in the 12th grade or something. Then one day we were hanging out and he started playing something and I discovered that he had got really good, so I said we should start a band. He asked Billy and two other friends, Paul and Kevin, and that was what became The Animated. As soon as me and Billy met, we pretty-much clicked. He was into all the same bands that I was into, so we started going to shows together. I think he liked going out to shows with me because I didn’t have any limits, so it was like going along to see how drunk I would get or if I was going to get in a fight or what was I going to knock over or what I was going to fuck-up… It was like that most nights, I was pretty-much out of control for various personal reasons. I always went out just to see the bands, that was all I intended to do, but it would often end up in those kind of situations.’

You’d already sung with them on a couple of occasions, just as a temporary thing, hadn’t you ?

‘Yeah, because they were going through different singers and guitar players every other week. So they’d call me if they had a show in LA, and say, we haven’t got a singer, can you do it ? I’d get up and sing with them when they came down to LA without a singer. Billy always loved irony and I wasn’t a singer back then, so it made sense to him that they should ask me to sing!’

2016 may have been a relatively fallow year for Faith No More (We Care a Lot re-issue aside) but as usual the individual band members are keeping as busy as the Trump Tower lifts. Roddy has returned to opera and his latest opus – The Ride – will be performed at the Merkin Music Center in New York tomorrow night (15 December).

The opera chronicles two gay men from different generations who take part in an AIDS charity bike ride from San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA. Roddy of course has taken part in the bike ride himself and raised quite a considerable sum of money for the cause.

“The older generation of gay men who dealt with AIDS as a life threatening disease and were in the trenches for the first generation of the disease helped their friends get through life or death situations,” Roddy told Experiements in Opera, who are present the piece as part of Story Binge II. “The generation of gay men today who are on PrEP drugs and TRUVADA don’t really view the disease as life threatening. It’s just a different relationship. And that, to me, is interesting.”

Story Binge II is a single evening event featuring semi-staged and concert versions of five works in progress. Throughout this 15-minute opera, the characters sing and talk from stationary bikes about how their participation in The Ride is emblematic of their relationships with the disease.

CM: Yeah, in the dream I get invited back to play. I’m on stage with them but I can’t sing a word, I can’t remember a word and I don’t know what to do, and I freak out and hide behind an amplifier, and Billy looks disappointed at me and they’re all looking at me. I had it for a good 20 years or something – a lot! – and it was weird. And then it stopped when I started playing with them again. It stopped happening actually after the first time I went back with them.

So wait? You’re telling me they’d already auditioned Mike Patton when you were still in the band?

CM: I dunno, maybe they had. It took a while, you know, for it to come out. It could easily be that they’d already been talking to Mike before I was even done. Billy was really angry with me for a while for whatever reason. But it’s all under the bridge now, we’re all really super good.

Looking back, what would you do differently?

CM: Probably just show more that I was a team player and go along with the programme a bit more. I could never do that when I was a kid. I’ve always been a rebel and it’s got me in trouble sometimes, and probably kept me poor. And then again, maybe not, because I might not have the two daughters that I have, you know. And we’re all so close now. You know, I came full circle for a reason; I had to grow up a little bit and we all grew up and it’s all good.

“This is one of those tracks that had to be a video, really, because it lends itself so much to visual imagery. Given the song’s sense of Americana, it would have been easy to shoot this in Arizona or New Mexico, but having been to Macedonia several times, there’s a vibe there that I felt wouldn’t be out of place as a backdrop to this song. Goce Cvetanovski, as a director, understood this immediately; he knew exactly what to do with it, and along with an amazing cast, has managed to create something very dark, and beautifully cinematic.”

And the band confirmed that a limited edition “Cone of Shame” 7″ will be available on 25 November; with pre-order information available soon.

Douglas Esper has given us an update on how the Chuck Mosley European tour is progressing. The band played Chester last night and play in the midlands in Cannock tonight.

Hello from Cannock! Chuck, Andy, and I just arrived in town and we are taking advantage of the local ASDA for two free hours of parking. Last night in Chester was a fun gig. Chuck actually read my setlist and played a few chunks of songs like, Sleep by Cement, and Punk Rock Movie by VUA. As a big fan of the song Sleep I hope to see it in the set at some point. The U.K. has been a blast and the people have treated us very well, but a quick note: crowds, please don’t the shy! Sing along! We love it and feed off of it (ask Edinburgh). We have 18 shows on this leg left and we hope to see you at the shows!

Chuck Mosley interview with Irish radio

Meanwhile, Irish radio station Newstalk continued their series of interviews and features on the We Care a Lot as presenter and seeming uber-fan Joe Donnelly speaks to Chuck about WCAL and early Faith No More .

Benrun { Looking forward to Dead Cross, Primitive Race, new Imperial Teen, the next Como Asesinar y Felipes record Billy is producing. I'm still enjoying listening to the WCAL reissue...but man, I could really go for an official live release or something about now. } – Jan 14, 9:04 PM

Benrun { Awesome Bobby! I got a cheap model for my birthday back in October....but it sounds good with headphones, doesn't transfer digitally all that well. I listed to the Imperial Teen Ivanka single from 1998 before they re-recorded it for the "On" album. I like the original version a lot, plus I hadn't heard the B-Side "Sweet and Touching" since 1998 when I moved out of my parent's house and didn't have access to a record player anymore. I love that song! I love vinyl, but I also love a digital copy of all the songs. I also listened to my... } – Dec 31, 1:15 AM

Benrun { So in his interview, Chuck talks about plans to move to England so that his life partner and mother of his children can be around her family. I was hoping to talk him out of this....I live in Ohio and I haven't gotten to see him live yet! Now....I kind of wish I was heading out of the USA too. But I can't leave now, I have too much work to do. I'm a white, straight, middle class, American man. I feel the need to help my documented and undocumented countrymen and women who don't look like me or love... } – Nov 09, 7:17 PM

EF { It is very slow times. I'm a little curious as to what's going on with the guys. Are we to expect news out of nowhere for a new album...or is the group about to, to quote Mike Tyson, "fade into Bolivia"? I'm not sure how busy the guys are and where FNM falls in their priority list, but I'd love to think....maybe....2017? } – Nov 17, 2:59 PM

Todd { Benrun, thanks for your reply. I figured someone on here might know what I am getting at. With Roddy, he strikes me as the very personable, outgoing introvert. He is usually soft-spoken. Yes, he is strong in his convictions. But he also seems to be really loose and playful. Just check out his dance moves on stage! And yeah, Gould is the mastermind. Highly structured, organized, conceptual, with strong command of highly technical details. I've read interviews with him in which he goes off on all the technical equipment and processes he uses and this kind of information just seems... } – Oct 19, 3:45 AM

Benrun { I took a personality test myself just now...and I am the same as Bill, INTJ! I find that interesting in the sense that while I am a Roddy side project fan and Patton side project fan, it is Bill and his bass, lyrics, and songwriting that speaks to me so personally that I became an obsessive FNM fan, but also love everything musical that Bill touches....Harmful, the Rebirth EP, Fugly, Talking Book, Hayduk, even the music he just points out the direction towards. I think I had 3/5 of the same favorite Bowie songs as him too. I've never been... } – Oct 19, 3:20 AM

Benrun { I studied psychology back in the day, but I don't speak that language anymore. I had to look those up...I think you nailed Patton, Gould, Puffy, and Hudson. Roddy could be several possibilities for me...definitely ISFP, but also ESFJ, ENFP, or even ENTP. As much as Jon is the quiet man, Roddy is maybe the most difficult to pin down. He's absolutely a really kind person, but he also doesn't take anyone's shit. Ever. Plus he's creative and takes some pretty creative risks (ie: Sasquatch the Opera). Thanks, this was a fun topic! } – Oct 19, 2:39 AM

Benrun { Yeah, it's hard to pick any video other than Last Cup of Sorrow as their best video. It is easily the best, while From Out of Nowhere is easily the worst! } – Oct 08, 1:15 PM

Bobby B Better { I've always been a big fan of the last cup of sorrow video too. The band hasn't been in their last 4 videos starting with I started a joke...hopefully next time. } – Oct 08, 5:48 AM

Bobby B Better { Actually, I take it back...Separation Anxiety is completely and totally awesome. I just watched CoS & SA back to back. CoS is really good but SA is something else. } – Oct 08, 5:43 AM

ty { this no show from the band wont cut it. its obvious Billy is willing to do everything for the promotion of the record but others don't seem to be as involved unfortunately. the song doesn't fit the clip at all but it looks good and seedy to fit the mood of the song. interesting that the band decided to promote the record 12 months after the Sunny Side Up single and the Seperation Anxiety videos. and also, this is an E.P? if theres unreleased songs on it then what a shame it wont be released on cd! } – Oct 01, 4:24 AM

Benrun { I'm not sure why mobile wouldn't show it, but just follow that link I posted. Also, here's a really good interview with Bill, Roddy, and Puffy (together! - and good things happen when the 3 of them are spending time together - it doesn't happen a ton since Roddy lives in NYC): https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/faith-no-more-cares-a-lot } – Sep 27, 3:20 PM

Benrun { Actually, the cover looks like the band's dog Henry in an Elizabethan collar (cone of shame). I'm not sure who owns Henry the pug?? Is it Patton? Roddy? } – Sep 27, 2:47 AM

Benrun { I saw Nov 25th on the amazon search that you recommended. If you click on the individual formats, the Nov 25th line does not appear, but it does on the broad search: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/160-7954925-9272251?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=faith+no+more+cone+of+shame There is even a cover for the record now! } – Sep 27, 2:45 AM

Benrun { I don't think anything good was added to this song. The trouble with FNM covers seems to be that no one ever captures the feel or intent of the song. WCAL is a punk, snarky F U song. This just sounds too serious and angry. The only FNM covers I've liked have been total re-interpretations, like Race to Space doing Stripsearch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dToGw9YAauM or The Sparteens doing Digging The Grave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GmvHcQ1YLg } – Sep 21, 2:03 PM

Bobby B Better { The come of shame teaser really looks to me like an album cover (single)...my guess is a record store day release } – Sep 17, 4:12 AM

Bobby B Better { Yeah, I keep thinking about the remasters. I don't have any of those albums on vinyl, so I'm leaning toward that and going to itunes for the tracks I don't have on CD. } – Sep 17, 4:01 AM

benrun { yes very few of us left it seems.I don't know what the cone of shame teaser means but I am really excited.I broke down and bought p rhino reissue anywaybut they have not arrived yet.so far from samples I do not hear a sound quality improvement, not that it was really necessary though } – Sep 16, 12:35 PM

Bobby B Better { I don't do Facebook so I shall share my excitement here...CONE OF SHAME!!??!! Benrun, I'm not sure if it's just you me and admin anymore...no one else seems to comment lately...but if so at least we have each other. I'm guessing a lot read but don't comment...what do the stats look like lately Admin? } – Sep 16, 4:48 AM